The Megaphone
Newsletter of the Public Voice
November 2004
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Table of Contents
[1] Upcoming Public Voice Events
[2] Other Upcoming Civil Society Meeting Opportunities
[3] News
- UN Working Group on Internet Governance Established
- EPIC to Host Electronic Privacy and Public Voice Symposium in South Africa
- WSIS Civil Society Meets in Berlin
[4] November-December Civil Society and ICT Policy Related Events
[5] Resources
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[1] Upcoming Public Voice Events
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NEXT PUBLIC VOICE WSIS RELATED TELECONFERENCE

- Date & Time: Friday, January 14th, 2004 at 10am EDT, 1500 GMT/UTC
Public Voice Meeting Page:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/pvwsismeetings/

"AFRICA ELECTRONIC PRIVACY AND PUBLIC VOICE SYMPOSIUM"

The purpose of this Symposium is to bring together African NGOs,
technical experts and policy makers to discuss Privacy, the World
Summit on the Information Society and the policy development of
Information and Communication Technologies. It is an opportunity for
the public voice to be heard on issues such as safeguarding electronic
privacy and protecting online speech, as well as African perspectives
on Internet governance and the World Summit on the Information
Society. The Symposium will be held in Cape Town, South Africa at the
Nelson Mandela Gateway to Robben Island, on December 6, 2004 in
conjunction with the ICANN meeting. The event will be split into three
sessions. Participants are encouraged to submit papers on African
perspectives on global Internet Governance, African Internet
Governance, or data protection or free expression online in Africa;
papers will be posted on the web site before the symposium. Please
send any inquiries, program suggestions, African NGO contacts, or
papers to <thepublicvoice [at] epic.org>.

Cape Town Event:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/capetown04/

FOR EVENT UPDATES, SEE:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events
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[2] Other Upcoming Civil Society Meeting Opportunities
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WORLD SOCIAL FORUM, BRAZIL, JANUARY 26-31, 2005
The registrations for the 2005 World Social Forum are now open to all
interested individuals and organizations. The WSF will be held in
Porto Alegre, Brazil from January 26 to 31, 2005.

GENEVA, FEBRUARY
There has been discussion of a WSIS civil society meeting to be held
prior to the WSIS PrepCom 2, which will be held in Geneva, February
17-25, 2005.

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[3] News
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UN WORKING GROUP ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE ESTABLISHED

The United Nations has announced that the Working Group on Internet
Governance is now operational with 40 members. The membership of
the Working Group is made up of governmental, private sector and
civil society representatives representing all regions. The task of this
Working Group is to organize an open dialogue on Internet Governance,
among all stakeholders, and to bring recommendations on this subject
to the second phase of the Summit in November 2005. The first open
consultation of the full working group will be held in Geneva on
November 24, 2004.

Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus:
http://www.net-gov.org/

Nominations Submitted by the Civil Society Internet Governance Caucus:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/news/2004_wgignoms.html

EPIC TO HOST ELECTRONIC PRIVACY AND PUBLIC VOICE SYMPOSIUM IN
SOUTH AFRICA

The purpose of this Symposium is to bring together African NGOs,
technical experts and policy makers to discuss Privacy, the World
Summit on the Information Society and the policy development of
Information and Communication Technologies. It is an opportunity for
the public voice to be heard on issues such as safeguarding electronic
privacy and protecting online speech, as well as African perspectives
on Internet governance and the World Summit on the Information
Society.

More Information:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/capetown04/

CIVIL SOCIETY MEETS IN BERLIN, NOVEMBER 18 & 20, 2004

WSIS civil society held a meeting in conjunction with the UN ICT
Task Force Forum in Berlin, Germany. The ICT Task Force was scheduled
to meet on November 19-20, 2004. Members of German civil society
organized a full-day meeting on Thursday the 18th for a discussion
about financing and Internet governance. They also held a
meeting after the public forum on the afternoon of Saturday, November
20th to assess the ICT Task Force meeting and discuss next steps.

Updates from these meetings:
http://www.worldsummit2005.org

FOR PREVIOUS NEWS UPDATES, SEE:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/news
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[4] Events Related to Civil Society and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy
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NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2004

-November 5-7: International Colloquium "Effective Use of ICTs for Defending and Promoting Human Rights," Boston, Mass.
-November 18: Civil Society Meeting at the UN ICT Task Force, Berlin
-November 19-20: UN ICT Task Force Meeting, Berlin
-November 22-24: WSIS Africa Media Conference, Marrakesh
-November 23: Human Rights Watch - Annual Dinner, Toronto, CA
-December 1-5: ICANN Meeting, Cape Town, South Africa »
-December 2-3: "The Future of Public Television" Sponsored by the Cultural Policy Center, University of Chicago, Illinois »
-December 6: Africa Electronic Privacy and Public Voice Symposium, Cape Town, South Africa »
-December 14-17: “International Conference on Intellectual Property Rights, Communication and the Public Domain in the Asia-Pacific Region”, Brisbane, Australia »

For more civil society and ICT policy related events and links to all, see:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/events/2004_csonetwork.html
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[5] Resources:
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THE PUBLIC VOICE WSIS SOURCEBOOK: PERSPECTIVES ON THE WORLD SUMMIT ON
THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

The Public Voice WSIS Sourcebook was compiled to further a dialogue on
the issues, the outcomes, and the process of the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS). This publication is intended to promote
understanding of the WSIS and encourage greater civil society
participation in the current phase of the Summit. The WSIS Sourcebook
includes the official UN documents, regional and issue-oriented
perspectives, as well as recommendations and proposals for future
action. The Public Voice WSIS Sourcebook also provides a useful list
of resources and contacts for individuals and organizations that wish
to become more involved in the WSIS process.

EPIC Bookstore:
http://www.epic.org/bookstore/pvsourcebook


LITIGATION UNDER THE FEDERAL OPEN GOVERNMENT LAWS

On September 29, 2004, Freedom of Information Advocates celebrated
"Right to Know Day." The Electronic Privacy Information Center
released the 2004 edition of "Litigation Under the Federal Open
Government Laws." The book is a key resource for individuals pursuing
open government requests in the United States.

EPIC Bookstore:
http://www.epic.org/bookstore/foia2004/


CYBER-RIGHTS & CYBER-LIBERTIES HANDBOOK ON THE CONVENTION ON CYBERCRIME

Cyber-Rights & Cyber-Liberties offers online, "An Advocacy Handbook
for the Non Governmental Organizations: The Council of Europe’s
Cyber-Crime Convention 2001." It is a helpful resource for
understanding the Convention on Cybercrime.

Handbook:
http://www.cyber-rights.org/cybercrime/


ASSOCIATION FOR PROGRESSIVE COMMUNICATION'S (APC) "ICT POLICY: A
BEGINNERS HANDBOOK"

This book by APC, edited by Chris Nicol, explains issues of
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy, making it
easier and more welcoming for people to participate in ICT policy
processes.

http://www.apc.org/english/capacity/policy/index.shtml


ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT'S (OECD's) "OPEN
GOVERNMENT: FOSTERING DIALOGUE WITH CIVIL SOCIETY"

This book by the OECD examines how to build robust legal,
institutional and policy frameworks for access to information,
consultation and public participation in policy-making.

http://www1.oecd.org/publications/e-book/4203011E.PDF (Note: PDF)

FOR MORE RESOURCES, SEE:
http://www.thepublicvoice.org/

November 2004